British Columbia ICBC Claim Deadlines
The dates that govern an ICBC claim in British Columbia. Free. No email required. For drivers, passengers, cyclists and people on foot.
British Columbia does not work the way Ontario does. Under Enhanced Care there is no seven day notice and no thirty day form. What you have instead is a duty to report promptly, a twelve week treatment window that opens the moment you crash, and several quieter deadlines that catch most people out.
Be careful what you read elsewhere. A great deal of published guidance still quotes a thirty day statement and a ninety day CL22 form. Those belong to the old Part 7 system and apply only to crashes before May 2021. If your crash is recent, they do not apply to you.
AT A GLANCE
| You have | To do this | Counting from |
|---|---|---|
| Promptly | Report the crash to ICBC | As soon as it is safe |
| 12 weeks | Use your pre-approved treatment coverage | The date of the crash |
| 90 days | Request a secondary review if you disagree with a responsibility finding | The notification of responsibility |
| 180 days | Submit each receipt for reimbursement | The date of that expense |
| 2 years | Make your claim for Enhanced Accident Benefits | The date of the accident |
How soon do you have to report a crash to ICBC?
As soon as it is safe to do so. British Columbia does not give you a fixed number of days. The regulation places a duty on you to promptly notify ICBC, and benefits can be refused if you fail to do that without reasonable excuse and the delay prejudices them. A vague deadline is not a generous one. Treat it as today.
In July 2026 the Civil Resolution Tribunal dismissed a claim where the applicant reported her crash to ICBC roughly four months after it happened. The decision is a reminder that limitation periods are enforced strictly, and that an insurer carries very little duty to warn you about them. Nobody is going to remind you.
There is a practical reason to move fast as well. Reporting generates your claim number, and you need that number before pre-approved treatment can begin.
Have these ready before you call. Your BC Services Card or online banking credentials to verify your identity. Your driver's licence and vehicle information. The date, time and location of the crash. Any photos or video. Contact details for everyone involved or who saw it. Any receipts you have already paid out for.
Write down before you hang up. Your claim number. The date and time you reported. The name of the person you spoke to. What they told you happens next.
How long are treatments pre-approved under Enhanced Care?
Twelve weeks from the date of your crash. Enhanced Care automatically covers a set of pre-approved treatments for that period. You do not need approval for those first twelve weeks, which is why booking straight away matters. This is a window that opens whether you use it or not.
Log every appointment from the first one. The date. The provider. What was done. How you felt before and after. A gap in treatment early on is read later as a sign that you were not badly hurt.
What happens if your recovery takes longer than 12 weeks?
You may qualify for an extension. ICBC pre-approves twelve weeks because most injuries settle in that time. If yours has not, your health care provider assesses what more you need and takes it to ICBC on your behalf.
That conversation goes better when your provider has something to work from. Bring your log to the appointment where you ask for it.
How long do you have to submit receipts to ICBC?
One hundred and eighty days from the date of the expense. Not from the crash. From each individual expense. Some providers bill ICBC directly and some ask you to pay upfront, so the ones you paid yourself are the ones at risk.
This is the deadline people lose money on, because it runs quietly in the background while you are focused on getting better. Submit as you go rather than in a pile at the end.
How do you dispute an ICBC decision in British Columbia?
Through the Civil Resolution Tribunal. The CRT is an online tribunal, independent of ICBC and part of the public justice system. It holds exclusive jurisdiction over two things that matter enormously to an injured person. Whether you are entitled to accident benefits, and whether your injury counts as a minor injury.
Fees run from seventy five to two hundred dollars depending on the claim. You are assigned a case manager first, and if no agreement is reached a tribunal member decides. It was built to be used without a lawyer.
Start inside ICBC. Raise it with your claim representative, then their manager, then ICBC's Claim Decision Review process. The Fair Practices Office handles complaints about how you were treated rather than about the decision itself.
Responsibility findings work differently. If you disagree with ICBC's assessment of who was at fault, you must request a secondary review within ninety days of the notification of responsibility, and you have to complete that review before the CRT will take the question.
If you disagree with a CRT decision, judicial review in the BC Supreme Court must be started within sixty days of the decision being given.
How long do you have to claim Enhanced Accident Benefits?
Two years from the date of the accident as a general rule, under the Enhanced Accident Benefits Regulation. Certain circumstances are measured differently, so confirm your own deadline with ICBC rather than assuming the general rule fits you.
Who pays first if you were injured at work or are on EI?
Not always ICBC. If you were hurt on the job, for example driving a work vehicle, WorkSafeBC is the first payer for your treatment. If you are off work and eligible for Employment Insurance, EI comes before ICBC income replacement.
Medical equipment is the exception that runs the other way. ICBC is the first payer for medical equipment invoices from May 1, 2025 onward, so those go to ICBC and nowhere else.
If you were injured at work, the British Columbia Workplace Injury Companion Guide covers the WorkSafeBC side of the same injury.
Last verified: July 2026
Checked against: ICBC, Overview of the injury claims and recovery process, the Enhanced Accident Benefits Regulation, BC Reg 59/2021, and the Civil Resolution Tribunal Act.
Deadlines change. If you find something on this page that is out of date, write to Recovery@hurtsquare.ca and we will correct it publicly.
Keeping the record these deadlines depend on
Almost every deadline above turns on something you were supposed to write down. Your claim number. The date of each appointment. The date on each receipt. The day a responsibility letter arrived.
Two things decide how an injury claim goes. What you wrote down and whether you did the right thing at the right time for where you live. The National Recovery Guide handles the first, the daily record of symptoms, appointments, calls and costs that a claim is eventually judged on. The Provincial Companion Guide handles the second, the deadlines on this page and the forms, boards and appeal routes behind them. People who have only one tend to end up with a careful record aimed at the wrong process, or the right dates and nothing to put in front of them.
Recovery First. Pressure Last.
See the British Columbia MVA Companion Guide
The scene checklist for the first three days is at hurtsquare.ca/72. It is free and asks nothing of you.
This page is general information for people in British Columbia. It is not legal or medical advice. Rules differ by province and change over time. Confirm anything specific to your situation with a lawyer, ICBC or your provincial regulator.